The Ring of Valor is a massive gladiatorial arena. Here warriors fight to honor the Horde, not for the amusement of bloodthirsty crowds. Young orcs practice here with blunted weapons, but occasionally fight to severe injury or death.[1](LoM 43)

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It was supposed to serve the same purpose as the Gurubashi Arena, except there would be no treasure in the middle. On the old Official site, under one of the guides, it's clearly stated that each faction has a city arena to PvP against the players of the same faction.[citation needed] This feature is still not implemented, so for now, the Ring of Valor doesn't serve any game purpose.

Player-vs.-player combat areas - Players thirsty for a bit of friendly competition can try out their swords and spells on each other in the combat arenas located in the cities. What better way to hone one's skills than against a fellow player?

This place could have been used for RP reasons or a staging area, however it is not possible to enter the ring itself, just the stands.

Line of sight is handled differently compared to Dalaran Arena. There are two pillars in the arena, moving up and down on timers to block line of sight. There are also two sets of spikes on triggers for when the pillars move, which will deal damage and also block line of sight. A player can stand on the pillars and move up and down with them to escape melee combat. Players are forced into decisions of taking damage from spikes for waiting in order to get to opponents.

Players are hidden during the waiting period, but start 10 yards next to each other as lifts bring them up through the floor. Spikes surround the lifts for a few seconds before coming down, so you can see your opponents and react just before the fight starts.

The staging areas in the Ring of Valor are not the standard sheltered rooms at opposite ends of the Arena. As the pre-match countdown progresses, the two staging areas slowly rise out of the ground until they emerge at ground level, mere yards apart. When the match begins, the gates around the platforms retract, and the two teams find themselves in very close proximity.

On either side of the staging platforms is an intermittent fire wall that blasts from the ground. The two fire walls trigger at the same time and inflict damage equal to a percentage of total health per second to anyone passing through or standing within the flames. The walls do not otherwise break line of sight or inhibit player movement.

Two roughly circular platforms at opposite ends of the Arena rise and lower throughout the match, obstructing movement and blocking line of sight when raised. Because they are essentially temporary pillars, they create an ever-changing dynamic of line-of-sight and kiting opportunities.

Due to its array of unique features, the Ring of Valor is the most complex and dynamic of all the Arenas in World of Warcraft thus far, and it will likely give rise to some of the most creative and active player strategies yet seen. In general, teams that combine constant, coordinated movement with opportunistic use of the platforms and fire walls will rule the day.

One key element of the Arena that teams should use to their benefit is the timing of the fire walls and platforms. The elevating platforms rise and lower in sync with the fire walls' activation and deactivation. When the platforms are lowered, the fire walls cut off that section of the Arena. Thus, players who are cut off from teammates or targets due to the fire wall's activation must quickly decide whether to wait out the duration or to suffer the high damage cost of running through the wall. Using the platform to kite or block line of sight is no longer an option in that case.

Teams that quickly identify when opposing players are cut off from support can rapidly burn those isolated players down, and so coordinated burst DPS will be a boon. Similarly there will be a greater need for and emphasis on healing, for the extra damage from the fire walls will take its toll. Keeping teammates alive through the match's initial frenzy will be a singular healing challenge as well, for the teams will likely be trading blows in close quarters while simultaneously establishing position.

0100Hotfix (2009-03-06): "We applied a few key arena hotfixes over the past couple days to both the live realms and the tourney realms. [...]

We removed the gates. Players are now free to begin combat as soon as the elevators reach the floor of the arena. This one was a doozy but we think we finally have a good handle on it now.

We modified the small side pillars to start in the up position. They used to rise up a few seconds after the start of the match.

We made a fix to the flame wall that allows it to break fear / root / etc. effects just like any other type of spell damage would. (ie. x damage taken and overall % health)

"

0100Hotfix (2009-03-02): "We also added a sound to the Ring of Valor to let players know that the flame wall will be opening up in the next 5 seconds. Again, just more early warning so you can plan accordingly. We cleaned up the art on the gates a bit too. It should be easier to see the gates opening now."